End-matcher.



W. S. SHERMAN.

END MATCHER. APPLICATION FILED DEC-2B. I914.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET1.

[VITA/56561 W. S. SHERMAN.

END MATCHER. APPLICATION FILED DEC-2 5 194. 1,329,4Q. Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I MT/VZJJZJ I lL QW' M v%ww W. S. SHERMAN. END MATCHER.

APPUCATION FILED 0502a. 1914.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

w/ T/wmrfd W. S. SHERMAN.

END MATCHER.

APPLICATIQN FILED DEC-26. 1914.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

am 3% H J I 7- raw/v57 proximately 20 wILLIs s. SHERMAN, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

END-MATCHER.

essence.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

Application filed December 26, .1914. Serial No. 879,029.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, l/VILLIs S. SHERMAN,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of lVisconsin have invented new and useful Improvements in End-Matchers ofwhich the following s a descr1pt1on,ref-

erence being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this "specification.

This invention has for its object to pro- I vide an end mate-her of the type in which the workis fed step by step past a cutoff saw and amatching saw by intermittently operating feeding mechanism controlled by the introduction of a strip of material, the tripping means for the working feeding mechanism being so arranged as to be in operative until-the work ispositioned apat right angles to the line of feedthereof. v

Another object of the invention is to probars engaging the worrin its travel past the several cutters, said presser bars being provided with raised guide ribs for engagement with the work and for directing the travel of the work, and being movable to vary the angular adjustment thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provlde an end ,matcher with an internnttent feed employing hook bars for pulling the work through the feedway past the cutters, enabling the worktobe fedfrom the side ofthe machinetoward the center thereof where it is discharged onto atravelingconso positioned as to be capable of operating upon the work at any desired distance from the end thereof.

WVith the above and other objects inview the invention consists theend inatcher as herein claimedand all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference indicate thesame parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of an end matcherconstructed in accordance with this invention, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof; V Fig. 3 is a plan view with the head block removed; V

Fig; 4 is a detail" view showing the work supporting means in position to receive the a lever 17 fulcrumed on shaft 18. v vlde an end matcher wlth separate presser V to travel with the slide 12 and are adapted work and showing the work feed hook rods in engagement with the work;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional plan view showing the adjusting tie bar for the presser heads;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the connector for the trigger arms;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the means for giving pressure to the guide of the slide;

Fig. 8 is a detail side view of one of the presser bars with parts sectioned; and,

Fig. 9 is an end view thereof.

In these drawings 10 indicates a frame having opposite horizontal guide rails 11 forming aguide for a slide 12 which has a rock shaft 13 mounted therein and carrying an arm 14 which has its lower end loosely mounted in bearing boxes 15 to have a very limited amount of play. A link 16 connects the lower end of said arm ll with A suitably driven crank shaft 19 having its crank connected by means of a connecting rod 20 with the lever 17 serves to osillate said lever and thereby produce a. reciprocation of the slide on the rails 11. Work feeding hook rods 21 are mounted on the ends of shaft lS to be swung to a lowered position during the inward or feed stroke thereof and adapted to beswung to a raised position during the return or outward stroke thereof, such change in elevation being due to the rocking of the shaft 13 by reason of the play of the arm 1% in the bearings 15l A rear frame 22 is secured to the main frame 10 and proj ects to one side ofthe machine where it is supported by a leg 23 engaging the base of the main frame, and such rear frame supports a head block 24 which has pressure faces 25 in its bottom surface against which the work is pressed by means to be later described, during itstravelrpast a cut-off saw 2G and a matching saw 27, both of which are suitably mounted onthe frame 22. The

head block 24 also contains grooves 28 in its bottom surface within which the rods 21 are 'reciprocated by the movements of slide 12.

An adjustable work table 29 is mounted on the front'of the frame 22 with a vertical tongue and groove connection therewith so as to have vertical adjustment thereon, and

clamping bolts passing through slots in the work table hold it in its adjustments.

For the greater portion of its length the Work table 29 has its upper surface recessed or cut away to contain the presser bars and their adjusting means. These presser bars consist of the stems 31 slidably mounted in vertical guideways at the front and rear of the work table 29 Where they are held by bolts 32 fitting in vertical slots thereof, there being elongated bar members 33 at the upper ends of the stems forming between them and the pressure faces of the head block 24 a Work feed passageway, of which the space between the end of the table 29 and said head block forms the entrance. Each of the four or more presser bars, which are arranged in pairs,has a downwardly ex tending lug 34 at one end thereof and an adjusting tie rod 35 connects the presser bars of each pair together by having notches 36 at its ends receiving said lugs 3a, said tie rod 35 slidably fitting on the work table 29 and held in its adjustments by screws 37 fitting in elongated slots thereof. By slightly shifting the position of the tie rods 35 the direction of the presser bars 33 may be altered with respect to the direction of feed of the work, the stems 31 of the presser bars having sufficient play in their guides to permit of this movement, and the bearing faces of the presser bars may be provided with raised ribs 38 V-shaped in cross section extending longitudinally thereof to indent themselves in the bottom surface of the work as the work is carried through the passageway and by their direction determine the direction of travel of the work. If the work has a tendency to back away from the cutter its travel may be corrected by adjusting the presser bars to a slightly oblique position. These ribs 38 may be provided on all of the presser bars if desired, but they are shown on the front presser bars only, with two on the first presser bar and one out of aline- "ment therewith on the second presser bar.

Each presser bar at the discharge end thereofha's an inwardly projecting lug 39 with a bearing face approximately on the level with the bearing face of the presser bars but spaced inwardly therefrom while the bearing face of the presser bar in line therewith is cut away. The bearing surface 39 is the lastpart of the presser bar to contact with the work as the work is fed through the passageway, and being spaced inwardly from the vertical plane of the bearing faces 25 of the head block the danger of the presser bars crushing the grooved edge of the strip of flooring or the like as the work leaves the presser head isavoided. As seen in Fig. 1 the stems 31 of the presser bars have their lower ends in the form of a knife edge engaging cross bars 40 slidably mounted on screw studs tlwhich project from the bottom of the work table 29. 7 There is one of through openings therein with springs 12 surrounding them and held against the bottom of the cross bar to give an upward pressure to the presser bars to force them firmly against the work in its travel through the work feed passageway. The presser bars have stop lugs 43 near their lower ends to engage the bottom of the work table 29 and limit the upward movement thereof,

The entire work table may be adjusted nearer to or farther from the head block 24: to vary the depth of the passageway for the work, according to the thickness of the work, by means of nuts 4:4: on athreaded stud L5 projecting from the bottom of the work table 29 and passing through a lug 46 on the leg 23 of the rear frame 22, such adjustment being permitted after loosening the bolts 30 by the travel of said bolts in their slots.

At the entrance to the work feed passageway there is provided a means for causing the operation of the work feeding mechanism upon the insertion of a strip of flooring or other material, but dependent in its 7 operation upon the work being presented therein with its front edge at approximately right angles to the line of feed. A shaft 47 is journaled across the work table 29 to form the pivotal connection for a swinging frame 48. A stub shaft 49 ournaled in the swinging-frame 4L8 at right angles to the shaft 4. 7 carries a beveled pinion 5O meshing with a pair of oppositely positioned beveled pinions 51 on sleeves 52 loosely mounted on shaft 47 so as to constitute a differential gear by which the simultaneous turning of the sleeves 52 in the same direction will cause the swinging frame 48 to move therewith, though it is not moved otherwise. A clamp 53 is formed on an arm 54: of each of the sleeves 52 and serves to adjustably connect therewith an angular trigger member 55. These'two trigger members 55 project through an openingof the work table just in front of the first pair of presser bars and extend into the work feed passageway where they will be engaged by the work when it is placed within the passageway in position to be fed to the cutters,

that is to say, at approximately right angles to the line of feed thereof. When so positioned the work in being moved toward the contracted portion of the work feed passageway at the beginning of the first pair of presser barswill'engage both of the trigger members 55 and depress them simultaneously if it is properly posltloned to pass through the work feed passageway. This combined movement of the two trigger members 55 effects a swinging movement of the frame 48 to engage a clutch mechanism as will be later described, but if the work is not in its proper position only one of the trigger members will become depressed before the work reaches the contracted 'portion of 'the passageway, and consequently there will not besuflicient movement of the frame 48, to

V engage the clutch. An arm 56 on the swinging' frame 48 is'connected by a connecting rod 57 with a downwardly extending arm 58 011a sleeve 59 loosely mounted on the.

upper position. A third arm 62 on the said sleeve 59 engagesa notched arm 63 of a suitably mounted three-armed bell crank, another arm 64 thereof constituting the pin releasing member of a pin-clutch 65 for establishing driving connection for the crank shaft 19, while the third arm 66 slidably fits upon a rod 67 carried by a crank arm- 68 mounted on shaft '18.to move with the lever 17 in its oscillations for reciprocating the work feeding slide 12. The arm 66 plays between coil springs 69 and 70 on the rod 67. and said springs by engaging-set nuts on the rod 6% givepressureto'the arm 66 either upwardly or downwardly accord ing to the position of shaft 18. With the parts in the normal position shown in Fi .2 the introduction of the work to the work feeding passageway causes the swinging of the frame 48 as just described, and through the connecting rod 57 causes the sleeve 59 to turn against lift arm 62 out of engagement with arm 63, thus permitting spring 70 which is under compression to lift arm 66 and disengage the pin releasing member 6 1 from the groove of the pin clutch 65 so that the clutch springs into engagement and causesthe rotation of parts to complete a cycle'of operation of the machine. 'In the forward movementof the lever 17 thecrank arm 68 by swinging downwardly brings the pressure of springs 69 to bear on the top of arm 66, thus returning thearm'64; to its position of engagement with the groove of the clutch,

and at the same time brings the arm 63 to its normal position where it isreengaged by the arm 62 under the action of spring 61,

since the work has in thelmeantime passed the trigger arms 55 so that they may return to their upper position. 'Thus at the end of the cycle'of operation the clutch becomes dis engaged to stop the movement of the parts and to check the movement ofthe parts before the beginning of the feed movement of the work feeding slide 12 which would cause the work feedinghook bars to be lowered into the work feed passageway, a friction brake -71 is mounted on' the crank shaft 19 with an anchor arm 72 connecting with the shaft on which the three-armed bell crank is mounted,-or with any other suitable stationary part that will prevent the brake from turning with the crank shaft.

On the rear frame 22 issecured a guide 73 the action of spring 61 and pawl and force it out Of engagement with its line of travel where the work holding; arm- 75 is nearest the matching cutter 27. It is, however, forced from this position by the engagement of the work withthe work holding arm 75 during the travel of the work out of the work feeding work being held between said work holding arm 7 5 and the last hooks on the hook bars 21 until the latter begin their return movement. The bar 74: is prevented from'following the hook bars in this return movement by a pawl 78 pivotally mounted on a bracket of the guide 73 engagingratchet teeth 7 9 on the bar 74. This detention of the work holding arm 7 5 assures the discharge of the work at the end of the work feeding passageway where it is droppedupon and in alinement with a conveyer belt 80 which passes around a projection 81 of the frame 10. At the beginning of the next feeding movement, however, it is necessary to release the bar 74 from the engagement with the pawl 78 to permit its return under the action of spring 7 6 to its forward position. For this purpose a hook rod 82 carried bythe pawl 78 is pulled by a spring 83 into engagen'ient with a catch 84: on shaft '18 so that the startof the turning movement of the shaftlS pulls 78 out of engagement with the rack teeth of bar 7d, and to cushion the forward -movement of the bar 74- the rod 77 is prov1ded wlth a coil spring 85 surrounding it and bearing against the head block 24; and engaged by the arm 75. forked arm 86 on shaft 18 embracesthe hookrod 82 and carries a roller 87 to engage said hook rod the catch 8% before the end of the feeding movement of the slide12 so that the pawl 78 is restored to its position for engaging the ratchet teeth 7 9 before the bar 74- reaches the end, of its movement under the influence of the traveling work.

The operation of the machine has been described incidental to the description of the "construction and arrangement and it will be suiiicient t0 briefly review the same.

Vv ith the work feedin parts standing idle passageway the .taneously to engage the clutch and start the operation of the feeding mechanism. If, however, the work is not at right angles to the line of feed only one of the trigger memhere will be depressed which will not affect the engagement of the clutch, thus necessitating the position of the work being corrected before the feeding means is set in operation. Both trigger members cannot be depressed by the work when it is in an improper position for the reason that the work comes into engagement with the first presser bar at that position in which it completely depresses one of the trigger members. The resistance to the further movement of the work offered by the contracted portion of the passageway above the presser bars prevents the work being forced by hand in a slanting position until the second trigger member is depressed. The trigger members may be adjusted as to elevation and as to distance from the first presser bars to accomplish the desired accuracy in the operation thereof.

The closing of the clutch by the proper introduction of the work causes the crank shaft to produce one oscillation of the lever 17 and at the beginning of the forward movement of the lever 17 its pressure on the lower end of the e 'ank arm 14 through the link connection 16 causes the shaft 13 to rock slightly and lower the hook arms 21 so that their hook members engage the strips of work in the work feeding passageway and cause them to move through the work feeding passageway past the cutters as the slide 12 proceeds with its forward travel.

Near the end of the stroke the strip of work which has just received the action of the matching saw 27 engages the work holding arm so as to be supported between said arm 75 and the advance feeding hook so as not to release the work until it is free of the passageway, and then by the detention of the arm 75 by the engagement of pawl 78 with ratchet teeth 79 the return movement of the feeding hooks drops the work upon the conveyer belt 80 by which it is removed. The stroke .of travel of the work feeding hooks is such that the work is carried past the cutting edge of the cut-off saw during its first step of travel and is left at rest between the two edges of the cut-off saw and is carried beyond the matching saw during its second step of travel, thus avoiding injury to the end of the work that might occur if it had been left at rest in a position where it would be engaged by the'saw teeth. The adjustment of the presser bars assures the proper line of travel of the work, and the light overhead hook bars which automatically dcscend into engagement with the work before making their advance movement and automatically ascend out of the path of the work before making their return movement perform the feeding operation positively and without encumberlng the slide with unnecessary weight that would hamper it in its quick movements.

The end matcher of this invention is capable of performing the work with great speed and isdesigned to facilitate the rapid feed of the work thereto, the strip being merely inserted in a slot at the end of the machine and automatically traveling inwardly to the,

machine and a yieldingly mounted V-shaped guide onthe otherside of the machine which is held with spring pressure against the slide. Said guide 90 is held to the frame by clamping nuts 91 passing through slots of the guide, and U-shaped clamping members 92 held by bolts 93 with spring washers 94 therebetween give lateral adjustment and spring pressure to the guide. The slide thus working between guides held against it with spring pressure is steady in its move ments and the work is not injured by the engagement of the hooks therewith in their return movements. 7 V

The object in placing the knife edge guide ribs of the tandem presser bars out of alinement with each other is to avoid the necessityfor the guide ribs of the second presser ment.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the presser bars have longitudinal inclined. grooves in their hearing faces and the raised ribs 38 are formed by metal wedge shape strips fitting therein, said strips having inclined lower edges fitting against the inclined bottom walls of the grooves while the upper edges of the strips are V shaped in cross section to form knife edge'guide beads engaging the work. At the larger end of the metal strips 38 are stop shoulders 95 to fit within recesses in the presser bars and prevent the longitudinal movement of themetal strips 38 in their inclined grooves. When however the guide strips 38 have b'ecome worn and it is necessary to regrind them they may be readjusted to have the desired amount of projection above the surfa'ceo'f the presser bars by filing away a portion of the stop shoul- V the head block, means for moving the hook ders 95 and driving them farther. along the inclined grooves. The direction of travel of the work over the guide strips 38 being from the wider portion thereof toward the narrower portion serves to keep said guide strlps mounted on the slide and traveling within grooves in the bottom of the head block with a plurality of projectinghooks on the.

underside thereof, means for swinging the hookbars into and'outof the work feeding passageway, a cut-off saw in the path of the work in that portion of itstravel through the work feeding passageway while in engagement with one set of hooks, and a matching saw in the path ofthe work in that portion of its travel through the work passageway while in engagement,

feeding with the other hooks. j 2. In an end matcher having a work feeding passageway, a yielding presser barprojecting into the work feeding'passageway. to

restrict thepassage therethrough, means for feeding-strips of lumber edgewise through the work feeding passageway, a trigger projecting into thework feeding'passageway ahead of the presser bar to be engaged by the front edge of the work on its introduc tion to the work feeding passageway and said work feeding means being set in opera tion by such movements of the trigger, and a cutter 1n the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passages way. I

8. In an end matcher, a head block,

presserbars cooperating therewith to form a work feeding passageway therebetween, there being grooves inthe face of the head block, a suitably mounted reciprocating slide, hook bars pivot-ally mounted on the slide and contained within the grooves of bars into and out of the work feeding passageway, and cutters in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway.

4. In an end matcher, a head'block having bearing faces on the bottom thereof, presser bars beneath the head block and spaced therefrom to form a work feeding passageway therebetween, a suitably mounted reciprocating slide, hook bars pivotally mounted on the slide and traveling within grooves in the bottom of the head block witha plurality of projecting hooks on the under side 'war'dly against the work in thereof, means for swingingthe hook bars into and out of the work feeding passageway, a cut-off saw in the path of the work in that portion of its travel through the work feeding passageway while in engagement with one set of hooks, and a matching saw in the path of the work in that portion of its travel through the work feeding'pas sageway while in engagement with the other hooks, the position of rest of the work be tween said portions of its travel being between the cutting edges of'the cut-off saw.

5. In an end matcher having'awork feed ing passageway, means for feeding'the work through the work feeding passageway, a

cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway, and

a presser bar having an elongated workguiding bearing surface'to bear against the work in its travel through the wOrkfeeding passageway, said presser bar being pivotally adjustable to vary its position with relation to the line of travel ofthe work feeding means.

6. In an end matcher, a work feeding passageway, means for feeding work through the work feeding passageway, a cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway,

pair of presser bars having slidably mounted stems at right angles to their parallel elongated bearing faces, an, adjustable tie bar connecting the presserbars at points distant from their stems, and means for.

clamping the tie bar in its various adjustments to holdthe presser bars to positions of angular adjustment with relation to the line of travel of the work feeding means. yielding to permit the workto pass thereby,

7. In an end matcher, a work table, a

head block thereabove' formin ra work feeding passageway,therebetween, means for feeding work through the work feeding pasthrough the work feeding passageway,"

means for feeding the work through the work feeding passageway, a cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway, atie bar slidably mounted on the work table and having connection with the presser bars at points distant from their stems for adjusting the angularity of the presser bars with relation to the line of travel of the work feeding means. i

8. In an end matcher having a work feedingpassageway, a yielding presser bar projecting into the work feeding passageway to restrict the passage therethrough, means for feeding the work through the work feed ing passagewa a cutter in the path of the work to be engaged thereby during its passageway and adapted to be engaged by movements through the work feeding passageway, and a trigger member projecting into the work feeding passageway ahead of the presser bar and in position to be moved by the work when the work is moved thereagainst in proper position to pass through the work feeding passageway for producing the operation of the work feeding means.

7 9. In an end matcher having a work feeding passageway, means for feeding work through the work feeding passage way, acutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway, a pair of pivotally mounted trigger members projecting into the work feeding the work when properly placed in position for being fed through the work feeding passageway, a movable member having a differential connection with the trigger members to be moved thereby when they are both moved to a predetermined position by the work, and a driving mechanism for operating the work feeding means actuated by the movements of the movable member.

10. In an end matcher having a work feeding passageway, means for feeding the work through the work feeding passageway, a cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway, there being a restricted yielding por tion of the work feeding passageway, a pair of swinging trigger members projecting into the work feeding passageway ahead of the restricted portion of the work feeding passageway,a swinging frame, a differential gear connection between the swinging frame and the trigger members, and a driving mechanism for the work feeding means actuated by the movements of the swinging frame.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for a shaft, a pair of sleeves loosely mounted on the shaft, clamping members carried by the sleeves and adjustably supporting the trigger members, a swinging member mounted on the shaft, a beveled gear on each of the sleeves, abeveled gear carried 7 by the swinging member and meshing with the other beveled gears, and a driving mechanism for operating the work feeding means actuated by the swinging frame.

12. In an end matcher, a frame having a work feeding passageway, guides on the frame, one of which is movable toward the other with spring pressure, a slide mounted between the guides, means for reciprocating the slide, work feeding means carried by the slide, a connection between the work feeding means and the slide reciprocating means for swinging the work feeding means into and out of the work feeding passageway, and a cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway. t.

13. In an end matcher having a work feeding passageway, means for feeding work through the Work feeding passageway, a cutter in the path of the work in its travel through the work feeding passageway, and a pair of presser bars positioned one in front of the other and positioned in the work feeding passageway each presser bar having a raised longitudinal guide lmife-edge, the knife edges of the two presser bars being out of alinement with each other.

14. In an end matcher or the like, a presser bar having an inclined groove, a guide rail having an inclined edge fitting within the groove, the outer. edge of the.

guide rail being V shaped, and a stop shoulder on the guide rail fitting in a recess of the presser bar to prevent longitudinal movei'nent thereof and admit of ad uStment for taking up wear;

In testimony whereof, I my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIS S. SHERMAN.

Witnesses R. S. C. CALDWELL, KATHERINE HOLT.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

